last weekend, my gwp and brittany got out of the back yard/fence while mom and i were away. a friend called, said the gwp was in my front yard and he'd stay with her. we went home, put kita away, and called for my 8 yr old brittany, annie. she didn't come home, so we started driving the neighborhood. we came across the scene one block from our house: the truck driver tried to slam on his brakes, but he caught the dog's rear legs with the tires. one leg was mangled, i knew she'd never use it, and might not live through the ride to the vet. within 20 mins, the vet met us at the clinic (sun night) and advised the leg would need to be amputated, but he couldnt find anything else major.
i'd always maintained that i would put my dogs down if they couldnt do what they were bred/trained to do: be a bird dog. and tho i didnt believe annie would recover, the chaos of having the vet suggest she could be just fine with 3 legs, and my wife crying hysterically, i asked him to save her life.
well, annie came home today. she was walking on 3 and seemed to be just fine. we have a long way to go, but we just might see her point another rooster, even if just with her eyes/nose. and if she doesnt, that'd be ok, too, cuz she's been the best bird dog i've ever been around already, and she certainly has been/will be a very special member of our family. kita was very excited to have her sister back, too.
enjoy them every minute you can!!

just a short update: took both the now-3-legged-brittany and my gwp on a short hunt today, thought we'd find a tree row or easier grass just to see how the brittany handled the longer walks. we've been walking and trying to build stamina/balance for a few weeks now, and she seemed to be doing well with it all. first tree row and both dogs started getting birdy until sure enough, two roosters flushed out across the field. i picked the second one out and dropped it. both dogs went to the downed bird, and the gwp pup brought him back to hand.
a good day, today. my brittany will be back in the field a few more times this year, i'm sure, and she seemed to do just fine. won't be blazing through cattails anytime soon, but she still loves to be out there and in my opinion, has lots to teach her little sister about finding birds!

that's great news! Dogs are truly amazing animals... have seen quite a few 3 legged dogs out there still working.
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